TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - It was quite inadvertent, a simple question, but it got Alabama Coach Nick Saban off on a rant saying things he hadn't said before publicly.

When asked at his weekly Wednesday post practice press conference what he likes about being at Alabama, Saban took the opportunity to get something off his chest about his leaving LSU and turning up at Alabama after a two-year stint with the Miami Dolphins.

"I left college football and found out where I went was a mistake for me," Saban said, his voice rising. "I learned about myself. I didn't know that when I left. That's no disrespect to anybody in any way shape or form. So I could have stayed there and not enjoyed it or gone back to what I loved to do which was being a college coach."

"You learn that about yourself. At least I can stand up and say that now. I couldn't say that before. If I didn't do it I wouldn't know it."

Saban was heavily and sharply criticized by the Miami and national media, especially after declaring at one point that he was "not going to be the coach at Alabama." But the strongest venom came from LSU fans, many of whom felt betrayed and have made their feelings known from the day Saban took the Alabama job through this week in anticipation of Saturday's LSU-Alabama game.

On Monday Saban stressed how he doesn't pay attention to what fans are saying on radio talk shows and on internet message boards. But it's obvious his inner feelings were different.

"I loved college football the time I was doing it," he said. "That's one of the most difficult things as human beings we have to do is be satisfied with what he have, have enough gratitude for all the things we have.

"You know that Joe Walsh song 'Lifes Been Good to Me So Far'? Maybe I ought to sit down and have more gratitude for those things, maybe I won't be looking for the next thing so much.

"Always gotta be another challenge, always gonna be something else you gotta do and you have no balance in your life. You're a perfectionist, you work all the time, you don't enjoy anything. You go do the next thing and you don't like and you really loved what you were doing before."

Saban also made it a point to say he still has many friends in Louisiana. On Monday, He broached the subject of all the Louisiana people who would at his home on game day and expanded on it Wednesday.

"As much as you guys try to make it the fact that everybody hates my guts in Louisiana, everybody doesn't," he said. "I hate to say that but we do have a few friends left and they are lifelong friend that probably like us, me and Terry, because of who we are, not what we do. We respect the fact that they like LSU, went to LSU or root for LSU. I've never had a problem with that.

"My neighbor in Michigan who was a very, very good friend of mine was the biggest Michigan guy in the world and I was a Michigan State guy living right next door to the guy. We were good friends, went to church together. . .

"I know you guys would like to make like people want to blow up everybody's house. I know it sells newspapers and I respect all that. I don't feel that way about anybody. All the fans who supported us are always welcome at the Saban's house. We certainly appreciate the great support we have here from our fans now."